City board reviews tax breaks

Penguin City Brewing lost abatement after missing project deadline

YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's Tax Incentive Review Council recommended Youngstown council renew the six existing tax abatements, but because Penguin City Brewing Co. missed a June 2025 deadline to complete an expansion project, its abatement never took effect.

The TIRC met Tuesday for its annual meeting and agreed to recommend city council continue six existing tax abatements. Those abatements have saved the businesses $445,394.56 in property taxes while they've paid $154,982.50 in property taxes as of 2025.

Penguin City was approved in February 2025 for a 75%, 10-year tax abatement to help offset an expansion project by the city's board of control. City council approved the abatement in December 2024.

But Stephanie Gilchrist, the city's economic development director and a TIRC member, said Tuesday that as part of a $700,000 allocation from the state capital budget in June 2024, Penguin City was supposed to begin the project in November 2024 and was required to finish it no later than June 2025.

Because that project wasn't done before the deadline, the tax abatement won't be given, Gilchrist said.

The project was to pave the remaining portion of the parking lot at the brewery and taproom, provide additional handicapped accessibility, install roof panels, add outdoor electric outlets, construct additional restrooms, and make window and insulation improvements, according to Penguin City's tax abatement application.

DeMaine Kitchen, the city's community planning and economic development director and a TIRC member, said: "They didn't follow through with anything and it expired. I would think the expiration nullifies everything at this point, and they'd have to reapply for the tax abatement."

At Tuesday's meeting, the TIRC recommended the renewals of 75%, 10-year tax abatements for Fireline Inc. and Youngstown Stambaugh Hotel LLC, which owns the downtown Stambaugh Building, that both end in 2027.

The TIRC also recommended the continuations of two tax abatements for Youngstown Campus Associates, which owns two off-campus housing complexes near Youngstown State University. One is a 100%, 15-year abatement that ends in 2032, while the other is a 75%, 10-year abatement that ends in 2028.

The TIRC recommended the continuation of a 50%, 12-year tax abatement for the Youngstown Business Incubator for its Tech Block Building 5 property that ends in 2029 and a 100%, 5-year tax abatement for Valley Foods Inc. that ends at the end of this year. Valley Foods also has a 50%, 5-year tax abatement that starts next year.

More than 75% of the property taxes not paid by the companies that received abatements is supposed to go to the city school district.

The school district doesn't technically lose that money because the amount saved by the abatements is supposed to be made up by other property taxpayers, said Cheri Donofrio, Mahoning County director of taxation and TIRC member.

But because those businesses are reliable property taxpayers and there are a number of delinquent property owners in the city, there is a loss to the school district, said city Finance Director Kyle Miasek, a TIRC member.